Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 3,599,040 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 140% from the previous session’s volume of 1,496,669 shares.The stock last traded at $43.94 and had previously closed at $47.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on APLS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.40.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 7.6 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.81 and a beta of 0.88.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.73). The firm had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.34 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 545.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.50) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,115,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,452,799.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,452,799.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 18,681 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.18, for a total value of $1,068,179.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 173,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,949,205.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 376,427 shares of company stock worth $23,169,639 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 79.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,542,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571,606 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 109.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,145,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,400,000 after buying an additional 1,121,497 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $56,640,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,460,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,277,000 after acquiring an additional 677,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 126.6% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,053,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,089,000 after acquiring an additional 588,875 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It offers EMPAVELI for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, C3 glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy; and SYFOVRE for treating geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy (GA).